citation: pallares-barbera, m.; casellas, a. (2011 ... · center for geographic analysis. iqss....

Center for Geographic Analysis. IQSS. Harvard University

Geography Dept Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

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Social well being, urban planning and spatial justice

Montserrat Pallares-Barbera, Antònia Casellas

Economic Geography Research Groupwww.economicgeography.eu.com

[email protected]

CERDÀ AND BARCELONA. OPTIMAL LOCATION OF SERVICES AND URBAN

PLANNINGMontserrat Pallares-Barbera, Anna Badia, Jordi Duch

Citation:Pallares-Barbera, M.; Casellas, A. (2011). Social wellbeing and urban planning: a discussion on social justice. Presentation at (56) 2011 AAG Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington APRIL 12-16, 2011.



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Parts of the talk

• Spatial well being, urban planning

• Case study, the Cerdà’s urban expansion of Barcelona done in 1860; his proposal included schools, markets, parks and hospitals



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OUR OBJECTIVES• We want to get further elements to incorporate in planning practices • We want to study the distribution of well being over the space

• Our working hypotheses are the following:

– Cerdà’s proposal for the expansion of Barcelona had the aim to improve the population living standards

– He used normative urbanism as a redistribution tool

– He emphasize the access of population to services as an important mechanism of improving social well being



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quality of life and social well being• quality of life and the relationship between people and their everyday urban

environments

awareness and concerns

from politiciansfrom social organizationsfrom individuals

key role of the city

concentrating the majority of population of the worldcontainer of institutions and they are close to civil groups and everyday lifeadapting bodies in new conditions requiring social integration, culture and economic development (Le Gale´s, 2002)



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spatial well being• ‘who gets welfare and where do they get it?’• Well being has a geographical context, and it

varies with location• Well being is not a simple concept

– form in which people live– type of urbanism in a city

• Externalities: individual and social well being• Efficient distribution of service-to-people• Locational advantage and disadvantage



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actions• Need to advance – Looking for key

masters– analysis of Cerdà´s Plan could have a

contribution to this way of thinking



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• Increasing population • 182 factories, 54272 workers (41%

women) (Cerdà 1869, p. 206)• Workers’ strikes 1855 (Engels, Toynbee p.

118)• “The wall” a political reason• Plagues• 802 inhab/ha

BASIC FACTS ABOUT BARCELONA 1860: a boiling pot



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Barcelona’s Old City

Topographic map of Barcelona 1958



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THE DIAGNOSISCerdà and the Old City. the unbearable urban density

• “social philosophy and the urbanization concept” (started in 1849 p. 9); “la idea urbanizadora”

• “Monograph about statistics of the working class of Barcelona” (1856): living conditions

• “social statistics” as action tool– Density 822 inhab/ha; 11.44 sq m/person; 183,877

inhabitants (Garriga i Roca 1857-1858)– Mortality as dependent variable

• food intake• family budget• working conditions



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Cerdà’s Map of Urban Expansion of Barcelona 1861

Source. MAP 1991, p. 458.



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decision and spaceCerdà’s Map legend



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on spatial well being and spatial justice

Spatial analysis: hospital service areas



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Spatial analysis: market service areas



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results expected

• best practice guidance • factors in leveling social welfare • quality of life • to construct the future policy initiators • to help asking the right questions

concerning urban well being and provision of needs



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• Contacts: • Economic Geography Research Group• www.economicgeography.eu.com

• [email protected]• [email protected]

Q&A



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citation: pallares-barbera, m.; casellas, a. (2011 ... · center for geographic analysis. iqss....

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